Airedale Hospital is seeking to make permanent changes to its neonatal service that has seen premature babies delivered in Bradford instead.

Due to low staffing levels in the unit, the hospital in Steeton began operating as a special care unit instead of a local neonatal unit in 2020.

This has led to around 24 families a year being transferred to a neighbouring hospital, mostly in Bradford, for delivery of their premature baby.

Neonatal units are the part of hospitals which provide care for babies who are born before 37 weeks gestation, with a medical condition which needs treatment, or at a low birthweight.

According to a North Yorkshire Council report, staffing levels have “improved significantly” at the hospital but the trust has asked NHS England to make the change permanent.

It is also seeking the views of councillors in North Yorkshire and in Bradford.

The report says that if Airedale’s local neonatel unit were to continue it would not meet the clinical standards on the volume of activity required to look after high dependency babies.

It adds there is “good evidence” that busier units have better outcomes for families.

Although Airedale will no longer provide high dependency care for babies between 26-31 weeks gestation, if required the unit will still provide “initial and short term care” for these babies in limited circumstances.

Currently all premature babies born from 22 to 27 weeks gestation are cared for in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) at Bradford, Hull, Leeds or Sheffield.

The report said: “Ultimately, this change will ensure the highest quality of care for premature babies across the region. Although the impact is small in terms of numbers, the impact of the change and on patient experience will continue to be monitored closely.”

The hospital in Steeton opened in 1970 and serves 220,000 people living in the Bradford and Craven districts.

But the majority of the hospital’s walls, floors and roofs were built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which has dominated headlines this month due to fears buildings with it could collapse after a 30-year lifespan.

In May last year, the government announced that a new hospital will be built on the current hospital site when it was added to the New Hospitals Programme.

Some councillors have been pushing for a confirmed timescale on the rebuild of hospital.